Students Get Lesson In How To Say `No'

May 09, 1995|By Sheridan Chaney.

Fox River Grove — Some of the community's youngest citizens Monday completed a lesson in life intended to help them resist future temptation.

About 70 5th-grade students from Algonquin Road School were graduated from the police department's Drug Abuse Resistence Education, or D.A.R.E., program. The program's goal is to give youths the skills they need to resist peer pressure to experiment with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

For the last 17 weeks, Fox River Grove Police Officer Mark Slovacek explained the effects and consequences of drug use to the students, who initially had a hard time grasping the substance abuse concept.

"At first they would just say `Huh?' and get a little bewildered. But after we got rockin', they were really involved," Slovacek said.

D.A.R.E. was devised by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Fox River Grove police adopted the program last year.

"They are teaching themselves with his (Slovacek's) direction," said Steve Swanson, a 5th grade teacher. "The more exposure and knowledge they have about drug abuse, the better informed they'll be to make decisions later."

"It gives kids different ways to say no and deal with peer pressure," explained Police Chief Robert Polston. "This promotes a healthy relationship with the police. They find out that we're not just out there to arrest them, we're there to help them."

Some of Slovacek's graduates proudly reiterated his message.

"He said not to do drugs because they're bad for you," said Matt Buckingham, 11.

"And they mess up your mind and body," added Tiffany Comerford, 11.

Lessons on self-esteem, assertiveness, managing stress and reducing violence are vital parts of the resistence plan, which also is taught in short form to 1st- and 3rd-grade students, Slovacek said.

Slovacek said he plans to impart similar messages to 6th and 7th grade students through a new Violence Education Gang Awareness or V.E.G.A. program scheduled for introduction next year.